Bad agricultural policies and changing eating habits in developing nations are primarily to blame for rising food prices, not biofuel production as some critics claim, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday. Environmentalists and humanitarian groups have stepped up campaigning against biofuels, arguing they divert production away from food and animal feed while contributing to sharp rises in the price of cereals and milk products.

EARLIER this week, junior food minister Akhilesh Prasad Singh, during a TV discussion on soaring food prices, maintained that India had rice and wheat stocks above the April buffer norm and that FAO chief Yumkella's global food crisis assessment had relevance only to Africa. Wake up and smell the coffee, Mr Singh. In the post

Given our large arable land and favourable climate, and rising global food prices, a proper policy framework could ensure that India becomes the world's food bowl, says Prashant Goyal

FOOD and beverage companies will no longer be able to get away lightly if found guilty of adulteration. The government is setting up a regulator and putting in place stringent rules for food and beverage manufacturers. The watchdog would start functioning from May. Should any mishap occur due to the consumption of a product, the erring company may have to pay a compensation of Rs 3-5 lakh. The company's officials would also face 3-7 years' imprisonment.

FOR the first time, India has given delivery at Kandla for sugar contracts traded on London's Euronext-Liffe exchange, the world's top market place for sugar. This opens a new route for exports and risk management by domestic sugar companies. With 24 million tonnes of sugar lying in godowns, finding the cash to carry it is top priority for mills.

Unwilling to commit to a definite view on the fate of forward trading in essential commodities, food minister Sharad Pawar told the Rajya Sabha that "there are a lot of conflicting views'. Mr Pawar's vacillation comes in the wake of indication that the Abhijit Sen Committee is likely to take a safe view that a given available data, there appears to be no corelation between futures trading and increase in essential commodity prices.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who belives that the food crisis had reached emergency proportions, is considering to convene a world summit to discuss how to respond to the crisis, his spokesperson said Thursday. "Yes, that is exactly what he is considering," spokesperson Michele Montas said when asked whether the UN chief plans to hold a gathering of world leaders to find ways to respond to the grave problems of food availability and high prices that have led to protests and tensions in many countries.

AGRICULTURE, food and civil supplies minister Sharad Pawar on Wednesday frustrated attempts by the Congress Left-combine to put the blame for the current bout of inflation on opposition-ruled states.

Deniliquin (Australia): Lindsay Renwick, the mayor of this dusty southern Australian town, remembers the constant whir of the rice mill. "It was our little heartbeat out there, tickety-tick-tickety,' he said, imitating the giant fans that dried the rice, "and now it has stopped.' The Deniliquin mill, the largest rice mill in the Southern Hemisphere, once processed enough grain to meet the needs of 20 million people around the world. But six long years of drought have taken a toll, reducing Australia's rice crop by 98% and leading to the mothballing of the mill last December.

The EU's top trade official said on Thursday that rising world prices for food must be tackled with trade deals that encourage developing nations, particularly in Africa, to boost food output. E.U. Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson said the world's agricultural producers should shy away from export restrictions or bans that would not help deal with "a longer term structural trend ... as population grows, as demand for food grows.' He was speaking to the European Parliament's trade committee. Trade deal